Student accidental OpenSearch charges (€80) – No response from support after 2 weeks, now they threaten to suspend my account

I understand this is a stressful situation. Here are some steps you can take:

Immediate Actions:

1. Check your support case status - Log into the AWS Support Center to verify your case was submitted correctly and check for any responses you may have missed
2. Verify your support plan - Basic Support (free tier) doesn't include technical support cases. You may need to use Account and Billing Support, which is available to all customers
3. Use the correct support channel - For billing issues, make sure you're submitting through the "Account and Billing Support" category, not technical support

Additional Options:

• AWS Educate or AWS Academy - If your university participates in these programs, you may have access to credits or additional support resources through your educational institution
• Payment arrangement - Contact AWS billing directly to discuss payment options or request a payment extension while your case is being reviewed
• Escalate appropriately - If you haven't received a response, you can reply to your existing case to bump it, or check if there's a phone number available for billing support in your region

For the Future:

• Set up billing alerts and budgets in AWS Budgets to get notifications before charges accumulate
• Use AWS Cost Explorer to monitor your spending
• Always stop or delete resources immediately after completing coursework

While AWS does sometimes provide credits for genuine mistakes, especially for students, there's no guarantee. The key is ensuring you're using the right support channel for billing issues and providing clear documentation of your student status and the accidental nature of the charges.